When I'm Gone
by UrbanChameleon
Summary: Sometimes a burden is too great for one man to carry alone. Uchiha Itachi needed someone to prolong his life and watch over Sasuke after his imminent death.
1. Konoha Trail

"Oi."

Kisame waited for an answer that didn't come. For a while, he followed his partner quietly through the canopy, leaping from branch to branch close behind Itachi. The latter showed no interest in stopping, even when Kisame called him a second time.

"Oi!"

Clearly he was in no mood to explain why they were heading full speed towards Konoha. Itachi had been ignoring his questions regarding this ever since they'd left the hideout. It wasn't like him to drag Kisame along without an explanation.

"Itachi-san, we've been at it for three days now..." the blue-tinted ninja said. "What are we going to Konoha for?"

Itachi stopped on a branch. Kisame halted beside him, looking in the same direction as his partner. Through the leaves he could see the outline of Konoha's walls. He looked at his partner, quietly demanding the answer to his question.

"I'm looking for someone," Itachi said after a few moments of deliberation, not taking his eyes off the wall in the distance. "One of my former ANBU teammates."

Kisame made a long face. Itachi had never talked about his ANBU days before. Why would he go looking for one of his old teammates now, all of the sudden? His tongue itched to ask more questions, but he refrained himself. He would find out soon enough, after all.

"Let's wait for the dark."

"Mm," Kisame approved.

The sound of cicadas surrounded them in the light of the fiery sunset filtered by the canopy. Itachi closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of peace in the familiar sound.

"Itachi-san... does this have anything to do with your little brother?"

Itachi opened his eyes.

"No."

"Hmmm," Kisame cooed. "It's strange that we haven't run into any patrols this close to the village. You'd think that after what happened years ago with Orochimaru..." he added after a few minutes.

He chuckled as he finished his sentence and looked up at the patches of sky he could see above the treetops. Clouds brimmed with pink shone against the golden canvas of the sky. The light descending through the leaves made the trees seem on fire; a quiet, pleasant fire enveloping them like a protective aura.

"It's quiet."

Kisame's voice sounded like a low thunder. Itachi didn't flinch. His eyes were closed and the muscles on his face relaxed, as if he were meditating. The sounds of the forest around them was like a lullaby to him - one he had not heard in a very long time. No, it wasn't quiet. The forest was never quiet.

Sometime after dusk settled over the forest, crickets engaged in their usual background humming, rivaling the song of the cicadas. An owl hooted nearby, calling for another. Itachi stood up from where he sat, on the branch of an oak tree. His sharingan shone in the dark, staring at Konoha's wall, although it was no longer visible through the trees. Kisame glanced at his partner, rearing to go, but he only moved when his partner finally leaped off the branch to another one, causing a faint rustle among the leaves.

Moving through the dark, with the summer night air blowing in their faces, Kisame felt free and at ease - unstoppable. He grinned as he pressed against a branch for another jump and let the feeling comfort his body. It was starting to grow numb from the days of keeping up with Itachi at that pace. He was only hoping this effort was well worth it. What could be so important about someone for Itachi to go through all the trouble to find them?

"We're taking the rooftops," Itachi said after they managed to sneak past the wall.

Kisame smirked at his partner's apparent eagerness. He found it intriguing to see Itachi so passionate about this pursuit, even more so since it involved his past. Itachi was always reluctant to pursue shadows from his past.

The sounds coming from the streets below barely reached them as they passed - two shadows moving soundlessly in the darkness of a moonless night. Kisame noticed they were leaving behind the hustle, heading for the more quiet outskirts of Konoha. He found himself questioning Itachi's motives once more. From what little knowledge of Konoha he had, it seemed they were going straight towards the Uchiha grounds.

"Itachi-san..."

"We're here."

Itachi jumped off the edge of a roof and landed on a narrow street in front of a large house. It was engulfed in darkness and silence. Neither of them could sense any chakra signature on the grounds, but Itachi thought he could feel something. Residual chakra, but nonetheless, something – it wasn't as deserted as it looked, someone still lived there.

As the two shinobi gazed at the building, voices echoed further down the road. Itachi frowned. A woman and a man were coming their way, but he recognized neither of their voices. The two Akatsuki stepped backwards into the shadows. The voices grew louder as the strangers approached the house. Itachi narrowed his eyes to slits when the man and the woman stepped into the light of a street lamp near the entrance to the house. They were both drunk by the way they were staggering and clinging to one another. He didn't recognize the woman, but the man's face was as familiar as one seen in an old dream.

"_Nara_ _Enki..._" he thought.

Kisame hardly felt Itachi move when he realized he was no longer beside him. Following his chakra signature, he jumped back on the roof.

"Itachi-san."

"Let's go, Kisame."

"Itachi-san, was that the one you're looking for?"

"No."

Kisame quirked a brow. Now he couldn't understand why they'd come all the way from the other side of Konoha to that place. Itachi spun on his heels and walked away in the opposite direction, stopping at the edge of the roof to wait for Kisame. The mist shinobi didn't know what to believe anymore.

He followed his partner into the night, the two of them almost flying across roofs. Itachi could feel the gentle wind of Konoha blowing softly against his face and its familiar scent filling his lungs. He'd missed that smell of fresh air that clung to everything for miles around the village of Konoha. Unfortunately, he had no time to indulge himself in such small pleasures.

He stopped again after a few minutes of leaping from roof to roof. On the front of the building in front of him there was a window. Through it, he could see a lamp on a nightstand, casting light on the face of a man who lay in bed. He seemed to be asleep. Kisame chuckled to himself. The man wasn't in the spring of his youth anymore, judging by the creases on his forehead.

"You there! Don't move a muscle!"

Itachi's sharingan blazed over his shoulder, fixing the man standing behind them with a kunai in his hand. Kisame scoffed.

"That clone almost fooled _me_, old man."

But the shinobi was looking at Itachi and the hand holding the kunai was shaking – a detail too minute for the normal human eye, but not for the sharingan.

"Uchiha..." the man muttered under his breath, taking a step backwards. "What- what are _you_ doing here?"

"Asano-san," Itachi said in form of salute, then went straight to what he wished to know: "What do you know about Nara Akane-san's whereabouts?"

"What business does scum like you have with her?"

Itachi blinked and made a few steps forward, while the man made an equal number of steps backwards. Kisame was watching the scene slightly amused, his palms itching to grab Samehada and swing it over the old fart's head. However, out of respect for his partner, he decided to leave matters to him.

"I do not wish to hurt you," Itachi said. "But either you talk, or I will hurt you and you will talk."

The old man's entire body was shaking now and his muscles were tense. He crouched, like a cat faced with a feral dog. His eyes were watching, alert for each and every move of Itachi's. He remained silent for a while. Kisame imagined he was considering Itachi's offer. After moments of deliberation, the shinobi finally spoke in an uncertain tone.

"Akane-san left the village some time after you. Last I heard about her she'd been spotted in the Land of Snow, but that was years ago."

Itachi tilted his head slightly to the right. The man seemed to be telling the truth. Nevertheless, this was not a night for Asano Taro to remember, former teammate or not.

A moment's breath and Itachi was right in front of him, staring the man in the eyes. Asano's hand dropped the kunai, paralyzed in terror as he gazed into the depths of the Mangekyo Sharingan. The weapon fell on the ground with a metallic sound that echoed above the roofs. Shortly afterwards, the old man's body hit the ground with a thud. Itachi looked down at the curled form of his former comrade and then let out a sigh.

"Kisame."

"Hai."

"We're going to Yukigakure."


	2. Hidden in the Snow

Chapter 2 - Hidden in the Snow

The icy wind made Itachi's cheeks feel numb, even though they had stopped running a while ago. The snow covered everything - an ever-growing blanket under the flurry of snowflakes that came down from the sky. He had given up trying to keep his straw hat on with the wind gusting from every direction. Snowflakes clung to his robe, his hair and his eyelashes. His body was numb from the cold and sore from the long journey to the Land of Snow, but at least he knew it wasn't much longer until they reached Yukigakure.

The village hidden in snow had little military power of its own. It was merely a haven for missin-nin, a place where mercenaries gathered and where one would find hiring a skilled assassin rather cheap. Cheaper than the Akatsuki, anyway. Itachi couldn't imagine why someone like his former ANBU partner would take refuge in a place like that. Akane had never been much of a fighter – not by ANBU standards. Her skill at healing, however, had earned her that place within the ANBU ranks and under his command. Finding her there, however, should not be a difficult task. Yukigakure was the smallest of all shinobi villages, with only a handful of scattered buildings dotting the endless white surroundings.

"Itachi-san, let's stop for something hot to drink before we start looking for your friend."

Itachi nodded. Something warm to bring some life to his limbs was exactly what he needed.

Past the village gate, however, the offer proved to be not so appealing. The poor condition of the village reflected in every aspect of life, from the tiny handful of houses weighed down by the snow to the motley of ill-fitting clothes people wore. Itachi and Kisame soon found that aside from the crowded, basement taverns, there were few decent places to get warmed up in.

The people passing by threw hostile glances at the two shinobi standing in the middle of the snow-covered road. The snowfall was getting worse now that it was growing dark outside and the wind was slowly increasing in speed and strength. The streetlamps on the side of the road glowed weakly in the snow storm.

"A teahouse."

Itachi's raspy voice caught Kisame's attention immediately. They were the first words he'd said that day. The mist shinobi turned his head to look in the same direction as his partner and barely saw the sign hanging over the entrance into what looked like a teahouse's courtyard.

Itachi headed that way through the blizzard, followed by his partner. Past the gate, they stepped into a small garden. The water in a small fountain to the left was frozen. To the right, an ice sculpture in the form of a crane towered above the snow. A small crease appeared between Itachi's brows, only to disappear shortly after.

A servant girl opened the sliding panels for them to enter. Kisame grinned, showing his jagged teeth as he looked down at the girl kneeled by the door, head bowed respectfully.

"Now this is my kind of place," Kisame said.

Itachi pretended not to hear. The teahouse was modest at best, with squeaky floors and an unpleasant scent he couldn't identify, but the warmth inside made his numb flesh tingle. The servant girl wanted to take their soaked cloaks, but Kisame snarled and she stepped back with a deep bow. She led them down a corridor that smelled of roasted tea leaves. At the end of it they entered a room with a table in the middle and sat on the cushions spread on the floor, facing each other. Kisame told the girl to bring them warm sake and some rice.

They sat there for what felt like hours until the girl finally came back with sake and food, pale and avoiding Kisame's gaze. The mist shinobi poured for both him and his partner and then threw his cup down his throat. He wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand and let out a deep, rumbling burp. Kisame filled his cup again.

Just as the girl was preparing to leave the room, the panel moved, allowing a kimono-clad silhouette to enter. Kisame turned his head, his mouth full of rice. Itachi merely watched from the corner of his eyes. The kimono rustled as she moved, like a field of grain in the wind. Itachi recognized the sound of pure silk and frowned. Pure silk in a second-hand teahouse in a third-hand ninja village? His eyes went up over the grey-colored design where golden fireflies swirled over a mountain lake. Dark leaves formed ripples on the surface of the water, skillfully dyed.

The woman's black hair was loose on her shoulders, reaching all the way down to her waist. Half of it was pinned at the top of her head with two senbon. She was keeping her head down and a few tresses were concealing her face, but Kisame grinned up to his ears at the sight.

"Uchiha-san."

Itachi raised his head upon hearing the woman's voice utter his name. His sharingan fixed the pair of blue-grey eyes gazing back at him calm as a the lake on the kimono. Kisame studied his partner's attempt at a facial expression in wonder. He then looked at the woman standing in front of them, with her hands hidden in the sleeves of her kimono. Her face was a perfect oval, like an ANBU mask with crimson lips.

"Nara Akane-san," Itachi said, much to Kisame's surprise.

"Itachi-san, don't tell me this is your lost ANBU," he said.

The woman turned her head towards the other shinobi, acknowledging him with a simple nod.

"Hoshigaki Kisame-san. It is an honor to meet a former swordsman of the mist."

She walked towards the table with steps so small Kisame thought she'd trip over her kimono, but she kneeled gracefully by the table and filled his empty cup with sake.

"What brings you two Akatsuki this far north? There are no jinchuuriki here."

Kisame looked at her face and then at her hands when she placed the cup back in front of him. Her skin looked like alabaster. He could see no scars whatsoever, no calluses to betray the fact that she was a kunoichi. What kind of ninja had no scars?

"I've been looking for you," Itachi said after a pause.

Akane slowly raised her gaze from the cup in front of her. A hint of red paint colored her temples and the outer corner of her lids. Itachi's sharingan could see no flaw in her makeup, no creases, no bumps, no smudges. A porcelain doll's face. A mask.

"Well, you've found me," she said simply, looking straight into his eyes.

Kisame smirked, knowing she had made a mistake. He tapped his fingers against the table, waiting for her collapse under the power Itachi's genjutsu. This silent exchange of looks was all too familiar to the mist shinobi, yet as more and more seconds passed and she didn't start screaming in terror it became obvious to him that Itachi wasn't attacking. It struck Kisame as odd to think that his partner would use this method to have a private conversation with this woman. His curiosity was starting to itch like a healing wound.

Just when Kisame's patience was starting to run out along with the sake in the bottle, the woman stirred. Next to him, Itachi grabbed his cup and drank deeply of the now lukewarm drink. Neither of the two said a word for the remainder of the time they spent together until Kisame emptied the bottle. However, when the two Akatsuki stood up to leave, so did Akane.


	3. Rusty

**Chapter 3 - Rusty**

"_Long time no see, Itachi-san," Akane said._

_Itachi regarded her quietly, taking in how much the years had changed her. She had grown into a fine woman, he had never doubted that she would… but she felt weaker. He frowned slightly. This wasn't what he had been expecting, not what he had been hoping for. He hated to think that he might have come all this way for nothing._

"_I will get to the point and not waste our time," he said, more sharply than he had intended. "I need your healing."_

_She did not seem taken aback. Her assumptions, however, proved to be wrong._

"_I can't do anything about your eyes. No one could."_

"_My eyes are not the problem."_

_Itachi saw her eyes widen slightly at his words. Akane quickly regained her composure, though: "Then?"_

_The Uchiha found himself hesitating. He had not opened up to anyone in years, he did not like revealing his weakness to others. Life had taught him one too many lessons the hard way. Yet he knew he had no choice._

"_I am sick," he said, the words barely making their way out. He had come so far, he had to at least try. Maybe he had been wrong about her. He went on before he could change his mind: "I need your help. This is not something that can be cured. I need you to prolong my life for as long as possible. Can you do that?"_

_Akane stared at him. For a moment he wondered whether she understood what he was implying, but then he saw her look away. He saw the pain in her eyes, the pity. He grinded his teeth at that – he neither needed nor wanted her pity. _

"_I need you to come with me and keep me alive for as long as you can," Itachi added. _

"_You mean until Sasuke kills you?" she asked. _

_The ghost of a smile curled Itachi's lips. He had forgotten what it was like for someone to understand, and understand she did. Whatever doubts he had had upon seeing her again after all those years were overshadowed by this bittersweet feeling. _

"_Until Sasuke kills me," he repeated. _

_Itachi had carried the burden alone for so long that he had forgotten Akane knew the truth. He should have killed her that night, the night he killed his clan and fled Konoha. _

_Akane had met him at the gate. He remembered her tearful pleading, her attempt to immobilize him with the Nara clan's Black Spider Lily jutsu, carried out with the help of shadow clones, and her failing, knocked out cold by his Tsukuyomi. She didn't understand then, yet she had shared his burden all this time. She had not betrayed him, she had not breathed a word to anyone. That was the reason why Itachi did not regret letting her live. _

"_Will you help me?" he asked, feeling more determined. _

Itachi thought about their conversation in his genjutsu as he sat by the fire. He glanced at Akane's sleeping form huddled in a sleeping bag to his left, then at his partner, who snored deeply as he rested in a sitting position, his back against a tree. Kisame hadn't asked any questions yet, but Itachi was certain they were on his mind. He would have to deal with him sooner or later. Kisame didn't have to know he was dying. He could tell him he was going blind, which was also true. Whatever happened, this would remain between him and Akane. Another burden they would share.

They had been travelling south for a couple of days and were still a day away from the nearest Akatsuki hideout. Itachi was hoping for a brief respite there and, more than that, for a little privacy. He could have had Akane pretend to be healing his eyes, but it still felt uncomfortable to do it around Kisame. She had not had a chance to take a look at him and assess the damage in his body. Hopefully it was not already too late.

Kisame opened his eyes.

"Itachi-san…"

"I know."

A kunai slipped into Itachi's hand. He looked up, sharingan blazing. The shinobi was alone – most likely a scout. There were others nearby, no doubt, yet the scout seemed reluctant to attack. He had probably recognized the Akatsuki attire and decided losing his life wasn't worth it. Itachi decided to make it easier for him.

"We're leaving," he told Kisame. He had no desire to engage in a pointless skirmish and besides, it was almost time for them to move out anyway.

Akane stirred, roused by their voices, rubbed her eyes and got up. She rolled her sleeping bag as Kisame put out the fire with a water blast. Darkness fell upon them. Itachi remembered someone once telling him that the night was always darkest just before dawn. Had it been Shisui? He wondered about that, as it didn't make much sense to him.

It only took a couple of minutes for them to move out. The scout did not pursuit. As the three of them jumped from branch to branch, Kisame moved closer to Itachi while Akane remained a couple of jumps behind.

"Itachi-san, what do we do about her if we run into trouble? She seems rusty. Hard to believe she was an ANBU."

"She can take care of herself."

"Well, I suppose you don't need her in one piece, just… moderately unharmed."

Itachi did not reply. Kisame fell behind and flashed his filed teeth in a grin at Akane, who merely threw him a sideways glance and darted off to catch up with Itachi. The forest flashed past them in a daze, leaves swirling and rustling around them until, after what seemed like hours of running, they saw the blushing sky of dawn peeking through the trunks.

Four shinobi were waiting for them in the clearing at the edge of the forest. One look at their forehead protectors identified them as being Takigakure shinobi, probably patrolling the border of their country. Unlike the scout that had decided not to take his chances against them earlier, these ninja stood in their way, kunais in hand. Kisame stepped forward with a malicious grin on his face, swinging Samehada off his shoulder to the ground.

"Finally some action," he said.

"Don't take too long," Itachi told him.

As Kisame stepped into battle, Akane stood by Itachi's side, watching. She had left her silk kimonos behind, in Yukigakure, and had instead donned an attire more appropriate for a shinobi, consisting of a lighter, sleeveless black kimono tied with a white sash. She wore no forehead protector. Her long hair was loosely tied midlength and hung on her back. The old ANBU tattoo stood out against the pale skin of her upper arm. Itachi thought about his identical tattoo.

"I don't think your partner likes me very much," Akane said.

"It's nothing personal."

One of the four shinobi battling Kisame broke off from the group and started running towards them instead, throwing a barrage of kunai at them. Itachi deflected them all as Akane made a hand seal.

"_Kagemane no Jutsu!"_

The instant he was immobilized by her shadow imitation technique, Itachi trapped his mind in a genjutsu. Akane released the shinobi, as he probably wouldn't be escaping the illusion very soon.

Rusty, but not defenseless, Itachi thought as he looked at her. What truly struck him as odd was that they had worked in near-perfect synchronization. Sure, teamwork was a vital part of any ANBU squad, but they had not been a team for years. It appeared they still knew each other well enough to anticipate each other's basic moves.

Kisame had already finished off two of the remaining shinobi. One swing of the Samehada and the last of them fell to the ground. The mist shinobi returned to Itachi.

"That wasn't very entertaining," he said, strapping Samehada to his back.

"Let's go," Itachi said.

The long journey was taking its toll on him, making him feel worse than usual. He was looking forward to a few days of rest at the Akatsuki hideout nearby.


	4. Loyalty

**Chapter 4 - Loyalty**

"Looks like no one's home," Kisame said as he entered the underground hideout after kicking open a rusty metal door.

Itachi looked around, taking in his surroundings. They hadn't visited this location in a long time and apparently, no one else had either. A fine layer of dust covered the floor and the scarce pieces of furniture, like the low table in the middle of the room. He placed a few logs in the fireplace and blew a fireball, lighting them up instantly.

"More room for us," Kisame said with a grin, resting his monstrous sword against a wall and stretching with a loud groan.

Itachi lit a torch, then motioned for Akane to follow him and led her to a back room. His torch lit the small space in which a single bed had been crammed in along with some shelves. Akane let her backpack drop to the floor. Itachi removed his cloak.

"We're going to have to share."

"I guess it's good I'm not an Akimichi, then," Akane said, looking at the narrow bed. "Lie down. I'm going to take a look at you now."

Itachi complied. Akane leaned over him and placed her hands on his chest. He felt the warmth of her chakra enter his body and instinctively tensed before willing himself to relax. He had grown unused to anyone being so close to him and the chakra surge made it feel even more intrusive. He turned his head and looked at her.

"Well?"

"How about you deactivate your sharingan for a while? You're using up too much chakra."

Itachi reluctantly let the room dissolve into a blur as his eyes faded from crimson to their normal charcoal hue.

"I have no idea how you're still moving around," she said after what seemed like ages. Her chakra grew in intensity. It glowed green around her hands and the pain that had been consuming him for so long started to fade, little by little, until only a dull throb remained, deep within him. "You're human, Itachi. There's only so much I can do. Don't push it."

Itachi started to feel drunk. He realized he had grown so used to the pain that he had forgotten what it was like to be well, to feel nothing. He closed his eyes and relished in this sensation of relief that washed over him, in the feeling of his body being so light.

A small part of him dared to hope he had been wrong. He hoped Akane would tell him that he had overestimated the power of this cancer eating him from the inside, that she could cure him. When the healing power of her chakra faded, however, he realized that would not be the case. The pain was still there, weaker, but present nonetheless. He could almost feel the _shinigami_'s breath down his neck, hear its mocking laughter.

"You should rest now," he heard Akane say, then felt the mattress dip under her weight and the warmth of her body next to him.

He filled his lungs with the stale air and let it out in a long sigh.

Her being this close made him tense and uncomfortable. He tried to move, but his limbs felt like boulders – cold, heavy and numb. His efforts added to his tiredness. He gave up, tried not to think about it and as soon as he did, Itachi drifted off into the sweet oblivion of a dreamless sleep.

Kisame raised a brow when Akane entered the common room alone, sometime later.

"Where's Itachi-san?" he asked, a hint of suspicion in his tone.

"Sleeping."

He watched her dig out a ration bar from the provisions they'd bought on their way to the hideout and his eyes fell on the tattoo on her arm.

"You don't fight like an ANBU," the mist shinobi said, taking a gulp from the bottle of _sake_ in his hand. "Don't look like one, either. Least of all one whom Itachi-san would befriend."

"How do you know we're friends? Maybe we're just tolerated acquaintances."

Kisame considered her words, then shook his head and took another sip from the bottle.

"Itachi-san wouldn't go through so much trouble only to look for 'tolerated acquaintance'. We traveled for days, searched for you all over Konoha. He even interrogated some old geezer to find out where you were."

"_Asano-san?" _Akane wondered, then told Kisame: "I'm a medical-nin and he's worked with me before. He would trust me to help him with his eyes, but that's about as far as his trust goes." The lie had come easily.

"It's precisely because he would trust you to help with his eyes that I think there's more to your history than you say."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. And even if you were right, why would you care? You're just his partner."

"As you once were," Kisame said, revealing his sharp teeth in one of his usual grins. "Unlike other Akatsuki teams, I dare say Itachi-san and I actually get along. Perhaps you and I are more alike than we'd like to admit."

"No offense, Hoshigaki-san, but we are nothing alike."

"We are loyal, _neh_?"

Akane took a bite from the ration bar. Kisame finished the remainder of his _sake_ in one gulp and slammed the bottle against the table, his eyes fixed on the woman before him. She returned his gaze, her face a stone mask, betraying nothing of what went on inside her head. In that, at least, she acted like a shinobi.

"Why did you leave your village?" Kisame asked after a while.

"You despise me because I am weak. You are not wrong in doing so. I left Konoha because I was weak."

"People don't become missing-nin because they are weak shinobi. Quite the contrary."

"Was I a kunoichi when you found me?"

Kisame snorted.

"Looking at a tree and calling it a bird doesn't make it one," he said. "You may have given up on the life of a shinobi, but apparently it hasn't given up on you. You are weak by your own choice – _that_ is what I despise."

He was surprised when the woman's lips curled into a smile. Her eyes, however, looked sad. A crack in her mask. Kisame wondered about that chord he had just struck.

"How did you meet Itachi-san?"

"He became my ANBU captain."

"Was he always like this?"

Now it was Akane's turn to be surprised. Kisame smirked.

"You know, cold, quiet, mysterious… all those qualities that make women swoon over him. I never understood why."

Akane seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook her head. Before Kisame could tell her to go on, Itachi showed up. He noticed his partner looked less pale and stood a bit straighter. The dark circles under his eyes had faded, as well.

"Oi, Itachi-san," he said. "Do you think that hot spring is still here? I feel like getting soaked. If you ask me, we could all do with a bit of relaxation."


	5. Human

**Chapter 5 - Human**

Itachi and Kisame were already in the water when Akane entered the cave-like chamber illuminated by a few torches. Itachi was submerged up to his chest, whereas the water only reached up to Kisame's mid-torso. She entered the steaming water still wrapped in the towel and Kisame scooted to the left to make room for her. He had brought another _sake_ bottle with him and yet didn't seem to be even tipsy considering how much he'd had in the last couple of hours. When he spoke, his thunderous voice was as steady as ever.

"I could get used to this," he said. "We should drop by this place more often, Itachi-san. The other hideouts are not nearly as luxurious as this one."

His eyes slid down Akane's body as she entered the water. The towel wasn't leaving much to the imagination. He looked back up to stare at her chest.

"Not very endowed, are you, _kunoichi_?"

Akane didn't seem fazed by his lewd remark and waved it off nonchalantly, pretending not to notice the sarcasm in his voice when he uttered the last word.

"Which is good, because they would only get in the way in battle," she said.

"I thought we'd agreed earlier that you are no kunoichi," he replied with a grin.

"Then what is the point of you calling me so?"

Kisame opened his mouth to retort, but Itachi cut him off.

"That's enough, Kisame."

The mist shinobi flashed a half-smile at Akane, then stood up, holding the towel wrapped around his hips with one hand as he hoisted himself out of the water.

"Well then," he said, "I'm going to get some rest."

He splashed his way out, not forgetting to grab his half-empty bottle. As soon as he left the chamber, Akane moved to take his place so that she would be facing Itachi. Itachi's sharingan didn't fail to notice the Nara clan symbol tattooed on the back of her neck.

"You look better," she said, making sure her hair was still pinned on top of her head.

"I feel better."

"This is only temporary, I'm afraid."

"I know."

"Well, I'll be here," she added in a small voice, as if unsure of whether she should say it or not. Itachi gazed at her, his sharingan making her feel uneasy. She willed herself to sit still under his silent scrutiny. It seemed odd to her that his look somehow bothered her more than Kisame's perverted stare.

"Why did Kisame say you are no kunoichi?" Itachi finally asked after a couple of minutes that to Akane had felt like hours. She wondered if the sharingan could manipulate time even outside the illusionary world it could create.

"Because I gave up on being one."

Itachi frowned slightly, then remembered where he had found her.

"Why is that?"

The question took Akane by surprise, judging by how her eyes widened slightly. She looked away, avoiding his gaze. Itachi waited patiently for her reply. Her expression twisted, as if she were in physical pain.

"Why did you leave Konoha?" he asked, his tone more demanding now.

"A shinobi endures. I could not endure. I could not bear the thought of obeying, following the orders of the people who did this to you. I was too weak to live as a Konoha shinobi, knowing the truth of what happened that night."

Itachi fell quiet, his eyes never leaving her face.

"When I tried to stop you, to hold you responsible for what you'd done, why did you show me the truth?"

She was trying to regain her composure, but Itachi's sharingan could see the slight trembling of her body, the pain in her eyes, the sting of tears.

"You could have just killed me," she said, a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice. "Instead you showed me what they did to you. Why? How could you be so sure I wouldn't tell anyone?"

Itachi surprised himself when the answer came to him without a moment's hesitation: "I trusted you."

Akane was stunned. Before she could snap out of it, Itachi went on: "You were my moment of weakness. Like you said, I am human, after all. You and my little brother are proof of that. Him, I wanted to save." He paused, lost in thought for a moment. "I chose not to be the hero that night. I chose to be hated by all, even by Sasuke, even though it hurt. Letting you live with the truth was a gamble, my moment of weakness. Had I lost that gamble, I would have never forgiven myself. But knowing that someone understood my sacrifice gave me strength to go on. You are part of the reason I managed to cling to my sanity. I'm sorry you had to carry this burden."

Akane stared at him in disbelief, at a loss for words.

"Still, I can't say I'm not disappointed with your choice," Itachi added, though his voice was soft instead of scolding. "I would like to believe that my sacrifice was not in vain and that others will pick up where I left and make Konoha a better place. I hope Sasuke will understand that too, someday."

"How could he, when you've hidden the truth from him?"

"I believe in him, as well," he said, looking into her eyes.

Akane looked away. The hot water was making her feel sick, or perhaps it was the conversation. The weakness in her limbs and the dizziness were making it hard for her to think clear. Still, she was unwilling to let this moment pass. She had never had the opportunity to talk to Itachi about what had happened so long ago.

"Why me?" she asked.

"More often than not, it's the prodigies who are always lonely. After Shisui died, I was alone, always training or away on missions with you and Asano. Asano hated me for being his leader because I was so young. You were closer to me in age. I didn't realize it at that time, but I began growing close to you. Deciding to trust you with the truth that night made me finally realize that you had been my only friend since Shisui's death."

"Even though I tried to stop you?"

"_Because_ you tried to stop me."

"I was on guard duty."

Itachi shook his head. "You saw the blood on me, I told you what I'd done but I'd yet to show you why. In spite of that, you still tried to reason with me, make me change my mind. You cared when no one else would have. You tried to stop me, despite knowing full well that you could never defeat me."

Akane smiled sadly. "I never thought I'd see you again," she said with a sigh and, holding her towel in place, stood up and slipped out of the water. "And I never understood why you showed me that instead of just killing me. For a while I kept your secret only because I was afraid you would come back and kill me if I told anyone. Then, as time went on, I realized that it was not my secret to share after all. It didn't matter that I didn't understand why you'd chose to keep it. I had to respect your choice. So you see, Itachi-san, Hoshigaki-san was right. I am weak. No amount of power could make me a true shinobi."

"It seems we are both human, after all," Itachi said, almost as an afterthought.


	6. Healing

**Chapter 6 - Healing**

"Tomorrow we head out," Itachi informed Akane, politely diverting his gaze as she was getting dressed.

"Where to?"

"The land of stone."

Akane sighed as she finished pulling on a shirt to sleep into. "Lie down, I'll continue healing you now. On our way to Stone I might be able to gather some herbs for further treatment."

Itachi did as he was bid without a moment's hesitation and deactivated his sharingan without her telling him so. Akane allowed herself a little smile and sat next to him, focusing her chakra in her palms.

"It's amazing how much of a difference good rest can make," she said as she assessed his condition. Akane then proceeded to push chakra into his body, fighting the damage. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been when she'd first examined him. "You know," she told him, "giving up on this hectic life and undergoing regular treatment could probably add decades to your life. You could live to see Sasuke become a man in his own right."

"You're doing it again," he said, and for a moment Akane thought she'd saw the glimpse of a fleeting smile on his lips.

"What?"

"Caring."

"I guess some things can never change. Like your mind," she added with a sigh as the green chakra around her hands faded. "There. Now you should get some sleep."

Itachi turned on his side, facing the wall. Akane moved over to the other side and lay down next to him, staring at the ceiling.

"Is it difficult, this assignment in Stone?" she asked.

"Kisame will capture the Four-Tails."

"You shouldn't exert yourself."

"He asked to do it alone."

"I see."

Akane fell quiet after that and for a while, the only sound that Itachi could hear was the calm rhythm of her breathing. Then he heard the rustling of the sheets and felt the mattress move as she turned on her side and threw her arm over him. He could feel her warm breath on his neck. The sudden invasion of his personal space made him tense, but he relaxed when he realized that she meant no harm. It had been so long since no one had held him that the closeness felt strange. It made him feel exposed and, at the same time, safe. He shifted to move his left arm and reached out to grab her hand, which he held until the rhythm of her breath slowed down, telling him that she was asleep. Then, Itachi allowed himself to follow her into the world of dreams.

Kisame greeted them in the morning with a grin, having already packed up what little provisions they had left.

"Sleep well, you two?" he asked. "We've got a bit of a journey ahead of us. Shouldn't take us more than three days to get there, though. I take it you're still tagging along, _kunoichi_."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Hoshigaki-san."

"That's alright. Maybe we could spar along the way, for entertainment. I would love to see you beg for-"

Before Kisame could finish his sentence, there were voices outside and the metal door banged open as another Akatsuki rolled on the floor at their feet.

"That should teach you, un!" a blonde man said as he entered the room. The man currently picking himself up from the floor scratched his head and laughed from behind an orange mask.

"Deidara-senpai, you're always so mean to poor Tobi! A! Kisame-san, Itachi-san! And… Beautiful-san?" he asked as his head turned to Akane.

"Who's the chick, Itachi, un?" the man named Deidara asked, putting his arms on his hips. "Didn't know you were into that stuff. Always thought you were a cold bastard, un."

"Kisame, we're leaving," Itachi said, an icy edge in his tone.

"We're off after the Four-Tails, Deidara," Kisame said. "You'll be summoned for the ritual soon. I suggest you get some rest."

"As if that's even possible, un," the man said, throwing a murderous look at his masked partner. "Anyway, you sure know how to pick 'em, Itachi, un."

Itachi ignored him and walked out through the space where the metal door had been, followed by Akane and Kisame. Tobi waved at them before getting smacked by Deidara. Their voices dimmed as the three walked out of the hideout into the sunlight.

"What was that all about?" Akane asked Kisame.

"That was nothing, you should have seen the Zombie Combo. Leader-sama paired them up because they couldn't kill each other," he said and a roaring laughter erupted from his chest. "So you see, _kunoichi,_ Itachi-san and I get along better than most."

Akane gazed thoughtfully at Itachi, who was a few steps ahead of them.

"I would still love to see you beg for mercy," Kisame whispered in her ear, then let out another thunderous laughter as he quickened his pace to keep up with his partner.

Akane frowned, but said nothing. She was growing used to Kisame's banter and it didn't bother her anymore. After all, she was not there to prove anything to the mist shinobi. Still, it seemed that their journey to the Land of Stone was going to be a long one, judging by Kisame's good mood and Itachi's bad one. Akane sighed, then moved to catch up with the two Akatsuki.


End file.
